Politics, parenting and other prattlings.

July 08, 2009

Abortion Party??

"Have you guys heard the news?" Maggie (name changed) unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and patted her flat belly. "Preggers." It was around 30 degrees outside, and her cheeks were splashed pink from the Indiana wind.

She had discovered earlier that week, after missing a period and taking the test. "I kind of knew already. My boobs and my lower back have been killing me for a while." She shrugged.

My girlfriend Ali and I exchanged a surprised look. Our forks, dotted with pasta sauce, dangled identically, flaccidly, in our hands. She was quicker than me to gain her composure, and turned to address her best friend.

"What are you going to do?" Unnecessary question, really -- a conversational life vest, used when you’re sputtering for something to say. We knew the answer. Maggie, a 22-year-old college senior with no intention of bringing a child into the world yet, was going to have an abortion. She told us that she had already made up her mind; she had even determined the time, date and location. A better question might have been, "How are you going to pay for it?"

She answered that one before we had a chance to ask. "We’re having a party Friday to raise money," Maggie said. "You guys are obviously invited."

Well, yeah, "surprised" wouldn't have exactly covered it for me. Curiously, the male writer of this tale says later.

Before continuing, I should make it clear that I’m no stranger to bizarre, pregnancy-related parties. My junior year of college, I attended a "Welcoming the Baby Kegger" designed to provide love, support and slurred confessions to a friend nearing her delivery date (she drank grape juice). Though I had initially been skeptical, I left this soirée du bébé pleasantly surprised. Everyone had brought gifts, toys, wine and food, which they piled atop a table in her living room. The music was low, and the conversation was great -- an all-around classy affair. I imagined the abortion party might be similar to this: a way to help out a friend who’s made a difficult decision.

Leave aside that a party to welcome a new baby is 180 degrees different to a party celebrating the killing of a [nascent] baby, but where does he get the idea that Maggie found this a "difficult" decision? Certainly, her behavior and enthusiasm he related at the top of the story belie his later claim.

All around, a generally creepy tale ... both for Maggie's cavalier attitude towards ridding herself of an inconvenience to this male's refusal to confront and work through his admitted "bizarre" feelings about it.

Posted by Darleen at July 8, 2009 11:26 AM

Comments

this is really sick. i hope someone's around to help when down the road 'reality' sets in about what she did and she falls apart over this.

yes, Josh, drink, dance and merrymaking to raise funds really wipes out the distinction between a baby shower (raising funds to help a newborn) and an abortion party (raising funds to help kill a nascent baby).

Where was the word "slut" or even an implication? Indeed, you seem to totally ignore my closing paragraph in which I say maybe the male can give up a little of his "confusion" and work through why he has "conflicted" feelings about Maggie's cavalier attitude towards using abortion as birth control with no thought to what she's destroying. Maybe he is AFRAID to say "hey, Maggie, maybe this isn't a good idea."

Well, I hope we take back the Congress in 2010 and can pass a law that states any woman testing positive for a baby requires immediate armed guarding from the military to prevent her from aborting that baby. Rights are not privileges. Jesus said we should take of the lesser amongst us and, if that means shooting some of these mothers and sending their babies to orphanages, then damn it, that's what God told Sarah Palin to do.

In reality, Dar, bitches when someone gives money to Planned Parenthood, she bitches when "family planning" money is allocated from the government, she bitches when women pay for their own abortions, and she bitches when teenagers get pregnant and have babies out of wedlock (see post on sex ed at crazyland)....

As I see there are two possibilities: First, Dar, should be made sex czar so no act of procreation could occur without approval. Now, given her supposed classically liberal political bent ("it's defined by what we say it's defined by, so shut up" -- Jeff Goldstein), one would assume Dar opposes govt involvement in people's lives. But, as a "happy-to-tell-you-about-it" member of the prosecutor class, Dar has spent years telling people what they can put in their bodies and making sure the full weight and force of the state falls directly on the poor and dispossessed. This is just a natural extension.

The second option: she just REALLY likes to bitch about other women's choices.

I vote the latter, since there's nothing but theocon judgment emanating from those pores.

Perhaps the Taliban need someone on burka patrol, Darleen. Sure, it means moving to Kandahar and switching teams, but when one is devoted to 1000 year old sexual mores as revealed by non-existent ghosts and goblins, a "team" is just believing a different set of ridiculous propositions. At least, then, you would have to full backing of the authorities for your work.

In honor of Darleen, I think I will go to the mall and judge women by the length of the shorts and whether they were married when they conceived

You might like to look at the law again ... there is no "right" to AN abortion, there is only the "right" to be free from government interference in SEEKING an abortion in certain circumstances.

and that right doesn't mean people are forbidden to comment or hold differing opinions.

As I've said before many times, I'm right in line with the majority of Americans ... I'm a "reluctant" pro-choice. I wouldn't, by law, forbid this female from obtaining an abortion under these circumstances; however, that doesn't mean what she is doing is ethical or moral.

Where in the story does it say Maggie or her boyfriend is "too poor" to pay for the first trimester abortion?

She's a healthy 22, she could have just as easily put up with bringing the baby to term and adopting it out. But OMG that might have meant some stretch marks and uncomfort!!!

Much easier to have a party to kill it and make a few extra $$$ on the side.

Maybe he is AFRAID to say "hey, Maggie, maybe this isn't a good idea."

Or maybe, unlike you, he isn't a busybody high on self-righteousness, and recognizes it's really none of his business. Maybe he doesn't share your view that everything has an easy answer so there's nothing for him to "work through."

Wow, Darleen, I had no idea you still commented at your site. I figured since you became the latest of Goldstein's "partners" (you do the work; I keep the money), that this was too small-time for you. The inevitable break-up of this marriage between the two of you is the only reason I still visit PW. It will be so fun.

Now, onto this assertion: why is it con bloggers always complain about straw when there is none? It's like that word was on your word of the day calendar and you need to use it. I set up no assertion, which I attributed to you, and then demolished. I summarized your stated beliefs and made fun of them. That's called satire; not strawman.

For instance:

In reality, Dar bitches when someone gives money to Planned Parenthood, she bitches when "family planning" money is allocated from the government, she bitches when women pay for their own abortions, and she bitches when teenagers get pregnant and have babies out of wedlock (see post on sex ed at crazyland)

What of the above is not true? There's a post on PW where you complain about "not teaching morals to high schoolers 'in a hook-up culture.'" There's no pleasing you and your 1940's view of conception. It either takes place within marriage, right before marriage, or becomes something you can use as a cudgel on other women(hopefully, tomorrow's word of the day).

That's the ol' plank in the eye for you, Darleen. Lady needs to pay for abortion, doesn't have money, throws an event to get money, and you object. And, tossing your disingenuous "where's it sat they were poor" was below even you. Uh, they had a party and asked friends to contribute. Not sure what world you live in, but most college students don't have the several hundred dollars an abortion costs just laying around (at least they don't in Indiana). By your (as always) concrete standards, you shouldn't be upset with her, since the article doesn't say she had an abortion either! Maybe it was a scam on those evil pro-choicers and she and her boyfriend are grifters? Reasonableness is not a scary thing, Darleen, you should try it.

Oh, and the Supreme Court did find women have a legal right to an abortion, subject to reasonable state restrictions. If I were a women, it would certainly be my right. See Casey. Arguing otherwise is akin to arguing the Supreme Court's restriction on defamatory speech means there's no right to free speech, just a right to seek free speech in certain circumstances.

By that standard (call it the Click Doctrine) there are no absolute rights, just privileges the State allows. Wouldn't ol' Tom Jefferson be surprised to find where "classical liberalism" has taken the Declaration of Independence?

Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion.

It amazing to watch illiberals take up the noble cause of first degree murder when it suits their self-absorbed agenda.

Liberals are about as morally corrupt as anyone human can be. Killing helpless innocent unborn Americans is beyond reprehensible.

They hate Sarah Palin with a passion because she hunts animals which to them have or should have more “rights” then an unborn human. I suppose if Sarah would just go around killing babies then all would be OK with the mentally deranged illiberals and their high moral values.

Josh, B Moe's generally wrong on most things, but at least he's consistent. I did enjoy the non-sequitor, though, as opposed to the word salad ml tossed out there. I mean, at least B Moe/Michael can type an English sentence which makes sense.

In fact, after Darleen misused the term "strawman" and ml recorded a stream of consciousness rant from his last Tourette's outbreak, B Moe's dishonest, non-sequitor quote ranks as the top nutcon response on the thread. Graded on a curve, B Moe gets an A.....graded objectively? Well, he does his usual D+ work.

Or maybe, unlike you, he isn't a busybody high on self-righteousness, and recognizes it's really none of his business. Maybe he doesn't share your view that everything has an easy answer so there's nothing for him to "work through.

Posting porn? Wow! Now that's mature. Like, it's the internet? Anybody and every can find porn. It's what drives the internet and yours isn't particularly good porn, anyway. Your limpet like adhereance to stereotypes is ................stupid.Dumbass.